Sara in WonderLimburg: ”From Tehran to Eijsden”

My name is Sara Khosrovani, I grew up in Tehran, Iran, and studied pharmacy at Tehran University of Medical Sciences. After my graduation in 2003 I moved to the Netherlands to enrol in a PhD programme at the Neuroscience department of Erasmus University Rotterdam. Four years later, after getting my PhD, I started working for the Medicine Evaluation Board of the Netherlands where I currently hold a position at the department of Pharmacovigilance.

In 2013 a family project made us (my husband, son and me) move to Limburg. This project also involved my sister and brother-in-law. They already were based in Limburg for some years since my sister at that time was working at Maastricht University. This project entailed the development of Museum Het Ursulinenconvent in Eijsden which we established in the iconic building (school of Pierre Cuijpers) originally built for the Order of the Ursulines and in the period of 1984 to 2013 was used as a town hall for the municipality of Eijsden-Margraten. After acquiring the building we restored it and made it ready for its present use.

Activities in the Ursulinenconvent

The museum, which covers family history in a broad perspective, constitutes the core of our activities next to which we offer a large programme of cultural activities. The beautiful chapel with its magnificent stained glass windows is frequently used for exhibitions, lectures, film screenings and concerts, but also for weddings, funerals and baby showers. Among the concerts regularly organised in the Ursuline Convent are those of Excellent Concerts of Peter Caelen, the Opus 16 Concerts of Michelle Powell and the concerts of the Stichting Chrisjteijn.

The activities of the museum are run by the many volunteers who have been dedicated to this project for many years. The new volunteers are often surprised by the level of friendship and team spirit. Working with them over the years has created a feeling of having one new large local family. We are currently working on our annual international exhibitions (Argentine, Columbian and Persian artists) and the Month of the Romantic Era in September with its many activities.

Next to the cultural programme the Ursuline Convent is home to the Centre for Culinary History for South Limburg with several specialised gardens, a brewery, a biological cheese maker and a beekeeper.

Art loving circles and Persian motives

We also have joint projects with the resident artists (who have their ateliers on the second floor), the music school of Edith Rutten and the language school of Cecilia Rivas Aragon. My parents are both artists, and we grew up in the art loving circles of Tehran, so I feel totally at home surrounded by musicians and painters. In my free time I paint, which is one of my favourite activities. I like to combine Persian motives with traditional European images using a colourful palet.

Memories of Teheran and Sint Pieter

We very much enjoy life in the South of Limburg. The picturesque landscape is stunningly beautiful and the hills, although much smaller and often greener, bring back memories of Tehran. Our family home in Tehran is located in the north of the city in the foothills of the Alborz mountains. I used to go on mountain hikes so it should not be a surprise that one of my favourite places in the area is the beautiful hill top of Sint Pieter’s where I go for a good stroll or a terrace. That however, is where the comparison stops. Tehran is a young and lively metropolis of some 15 million people that never sleeps with ever continuing traffic jams, cafes and galleries that pop up like mushrooms and a surprise around every corner. It is pleasant to be able to enjoy both the calmness of the countryside of South of Limburg and the hectic city live of Tehran at times.

Newcomers to the area I would advise to become active in local clubs, enjoy the enticing culture, landscape, way of living and of course to pay a visit to our museum!